The Darkness Behind the Beauty
by GirlishlyGreek
Summary: When Percy first laid eyes on her, he couldn't breathe. She was beautiful, wild, radiant- full of life. Perfect. Percy is instantly drawn to her- to her magnetism and the sultry ways in which she seems to lure anyone to her. He is infatuated by her. But soon enough, he discovers a side of her that no one has seemed to see before. A darker, more dangerously broken side. Percabeth AU


_Carmen by Lana del Rey_

 _Darling, darling, doesn't have a problem_

 _lying to herself 'cause her liquor's top shelf_

 _Its alarming, honestly, how charming she can be_

 _Fooling everyone telling 'em she's having fun_

 _She says you don't wanna be like me_

 _Dont wanna see all the things I've seen_

 _I'm dying, I'm dying_

 _She says you don't wanna get this way_

 _Famous and dumb at an early age_

 _I'm lying, I'm lying_

 _The boys, the girls, they all like Carmen_

 _She gives them butterflies, bats her cartoon eyes_

 _She laughs, like God, her mind's like a diamond_

 _Audio tune lies, she's still shining_

 _Like lightning, woah woah, white lightning_

 _Carmen, Carmen, staying up til' morning_

 _Only seventeen but she walks the streets so mean_

 _It's alarming, truly how disarming you can be_

 _Eating soft ice cream, Coney Island Queen_

 _She says you don't wanna be like me_

 _Looking for fun, getting high for free_

 _I'm dying, I'm dying_

 _She says you don't wanna get this way_

 _Streetwalk at night and a star by day_

 _It's tiring, tiring_

 _The boys, the girls, they all like Carmen_

 _She gives them butterflies, bats her cartoon eyes_

 _She laughs, like God, her mind's like a diamond_

 _Audio tune lies, she's still shining_

 _Like lightning, woah woah, white lightning_

 _Baby's all dressed up with nowhere to go_

 _That's the little story of the girl you know_

 _Relying on the kindness of strangers_

 _Tying cherry knots, smiling, doing party favors_

 _Put your red dress on, put your lipstick on, sing your song, song_

 _Now the camera's on_

 _And you're alive again_

 _Mon amour, je sais que tu m'aimes aussi_

 _Tu as besoin de moi, tu as besoin de moi dans ta vie_

 _Tu ne peux vivre sans toi_

 _Et je mourrais sans toi_

 _Je tuerais pour toi_

 _The boys, the girls, they all like Carmen_

 _She gives them butterflies, bats her cartoon eyes_

 _She laughs, like God, her mind's like a diamond_

 _Audio tune lies, she's still shining_

 _Like lightning, woah woah, white lightning_

 _Darling, darling, doesn't have a problem_

 _Lying to herself 'cause her liquor's top shelf_

* * *

The second Percy laid eyes on her, he knew he was a goner.

He watched, hopelessly mesmerized, as she twirled and laughed on the dance floor, her blonde hair a shiny waterfall of curls that cascaded down her back and reached her waist, whipping all around her gorgeous face.

She was like an image of life itself, her grin as bright as the sun, her eyes like swirling thunderstorms, capturing and glowing and beautiful.

She was beautiful.

He stared as she flung herself at her friend, Piper, and threw her head back and laughed- a melodious sound that pierced his soul and made his heart throb in a way it never had.

Percy couldn't seem to breathe, watching her. It was like the rest of the world had faded away and he was only a ghost, gazing at the beautiful blonde as she danced and twirled and swayed her hips as the music flowed around her, almost like a part of her.

He had never laid his eyes upon someone so beautiful.

As if seeming to feel his gaze on her, she turned, a grin on her face and cheeks flushed and hair a mess, her porcelain skin shining in her skin-tight red dress, and Percy sucked in a harsh breath that almost made him choke, and she was looking back at him, a dazed expression on her beaming face.

Percy couldn't breathe.

"Perce! Percy!"

Someone jostled his arm, and Percy could suddenly hear the pounding music again, obnoxiously loud in his ears, and he could feel people bumping into him and see the rest of the colors of the room.

"Percy, dude, you okay?"

Percy blinked and turned to see his best friend Jason, staring at him with inquisitive blue eyes.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," Percy said, shaking his head and swallowing, noticing how dry his throat suddenly was.

Leo bounded up next to him, a crazy grin on his face. "I know exactly what you need, man."

He whistled, catching the attention of Travis Stoll, one of the two brothers who was hosting the beginning-of-the-school-year party he was currently at. Travis was flirting with Katie Gardner, one hand braced against the wall behind her and a cheeky grin on his face, and he whispered something in Katie's ear, making the girl laugh and punch his arm lightly.

"Yo, Stoll!" Leo called over the loud music. He grinned, clapping Percy on the shoulder. "Percy here needs something that'll hit him hard, if you know what I mean."

Travis grinned wryly and nodded. "I got you, man." He turned to Katie. "Be right back, Katie-Kat."

Percy sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I really don't wanna get drunk tonight. My Mom will be pissed-"

"Come on, Percy!" Leo persisted, bumping his shoulder against him. "Live a little, dude. I'm sure Sally won't mind."

Percy shot Leo a look. "My Mom can smell alcohol a mile away, dude. She won't even let me inside the house if I come home wasted, and I promised her I wouldn't drink tonight-"

"Then just stay over at my house," Jason said with a shrug, taking a drink of his beer. "My parents don't care."

Percy mulled it over for a moment, and finally, he sighed. "Whatever, fine. Let me just text my Mom to make sure it's okay with her."

"Here you go, Perce," Travis said, appearing with a red solo cup in his hand, a mischievous grin on his face.

Percy took the cup warily, and he shot his friends a look. "If I'm completely shit-faced by the end of tonight, I'm going to kill all of you assholes."

Jason merely grinned and raised his cup, and Leo and Travis did the same. "To our senior year, fuckers."

The guys whooped, and before Percy took a drink, he looked back into the crowd, looking for the heart-stopping, beautiful girl he'd seen earlier.

But she was gone.

* * *

 _*Two days later*_

"Oh, fuck," Percy sighed as he sat down at the lunch table, already occupied by Leo, Jason, Frank, Nico, Grover and the Stoll brothers. "School sucks ass."

"Think we don't know that already, Percy?" Nico grumbled, chewing on a french fry.

"First days are always a whore," Connor commented with a grin, leaning over the table and stealing a fry from Nico, who shot him a murderous glare in turn.

"Lighten up a little, Perce," Frank said, bumping his shoulder and giving him a half-smile. If you didn't know Frank, you'd think he would knock your teeth out if you even looked in his direction, but once you met him, you learned just how big of a softie he was."It's our senior year. We'll be out of this hell hole before you know it."

Leo banged his head on the table, groaning. "Bullshit."

"I really wish you guys hadn't scheduled that party to be two days before school starts," Jason said, frowning as he rubbed his temples. "I still have a fucking hangover."

Travis grinned viscerally and winked. "That's one way to get you through the first day, isn't it?"

Jason threw a potato chip at him, hitting him on the forehead. "Fuck you."

"I'm sure Piper would actually like to see that happen," Nico said, shaking his head. "She's insane."

"She may be insane," Leo said, a sly grin on his face. "But she's hot."

Jason gave him a harsh glare and shoved him off the bench, sending him crashing to the floor.

Percy heard them all laugh and he could hear Leo's distant protests and the guys making fun of him, and normally, Percy would join in, but he was too busy thinking about that girl he'd seen at the party- the one who had breathed life and joy and carelessness so beautifully, the one who'd sent his heart racing just by merely staring at her.

One question lingered in his mind- had tormented him for the past two nights and left him awake at ungodly hours of the night and through the morning:

 _Who is she?_

"Percy?" Grover said quietly besides him, his brown eyes filled with concern as he peered at him. "You all right?"

"What?" Percy said, and he shook his head, trying to calm his stuttering heart. What the _fuck_ was wrong with him? "Uh, yeah, I'm totally fine. Sorry."

Grover didn't look convinced, but he just shrugged and continued to eat his enchilada, though the look he gave Percy let him know that he'd ask what was up later on.

"Hi, baby!" A familiar voice greeted merrily, and soon enough, Piper McLean was bounding up to their table and into Jason's lap, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him without preamble.

"Fucking hell," Nico grumbled, turning his body completely to not see the obvious display of affection between the two. "Goddammit Piper- can you not spoil my meal for one day?"

Piper let out an obnoxious moan and squirmed in Jason's lap, elbowing Nico in the process and making him choke on a french fry.

Piper pulled back with a smack of her lips, and Jason grinned, dazed. "Hey, Pipes."

"Hey, Piper, nice to see you too," Connor mocked, and Piper flashed everyone a grin.

"Hi, assholes," she said sweetly, kaleidoscope eyes bright. Percy had always found her eyes a mystery; they seemed to reflect her moods with their color-changing ways. Bright, olive green when she was happy, a cobalt blue when angry, and a brown when she was calm and thoughtful. Yet the colors blended together so much, it was sometimes hard to tell.

"Piper!"

Percy looked up, and when he did, he felt his heart stop.

There, the beautiful girl he'd seen at the party, stood at the head of the table, that joyous grin he'd found so alluring alight on her heart-shaped face. A short bohemian dress that exposed her sun-kissed shoulders swayed around her like it was made for her, necklaces dangling from her neck and gold hoop earrings looped around her ears, her honey-blonde hair swept up into a messy bun. Her long, tan legs on perfect display made him swallow hard, brown knee-high strapped heels lacing up her legs.

All Percy could see was _her her her._

She flashed them all a thousand-watt smile, her teeth so white it almost blinded him. She leaned across the table and swiftly plucked a french fry from Nico's tray. "Don't mind if I do."

Nico banged his head on the table. "Why."

The girl let out a laugh, and Percy swore his heart fucking _soared_ at the beautiful, heart-throbbing sound that escaped her full, pink, glossed lips.

"You ready, Piper?" She asked, happily chewing on the french fry that she held between delicate fingers, her polished red fingernails sinking into the snack as she held it.

"Totally," Piper replied, and she quickly pecked Jason on the cheek before standing up, snatching Nico's bag of french fries before he could even blink. "Thank you very much."

Nico gave an indignant cry. "Bitch-"

Piper blew a kiss at him and grinned. "Bye!" she said, and with that, she turned and began to walk away.

The girl gave them all a smile that Percy could only describe as seductively sweet, and she fluttered her fingers at them. "Bye, boys."

And Percy swore-he swore on his goddamn _life-_ that before she went after Piper, she had shot him a wink.

He was going insane.

"Hey, Perce," Travis said, grinning at him. "You all right? You got a little drool there, man."

Instinctively, Percy wiped at his mouth, but of course, there was nothing there. "Fuck you, Travis."

He looked in the direction that the girl had walked away in, but like the night of the party, she was gone.

Percy cleared his throat, drumming his fingers on the table and trying to sound casual. "So- who the hell was that?"

The guys looked at him. "Who?" Frank said, frowning. "The girl that was just here?"

Connor grinned slyly, his mischievous blue eyes brightening. "That-" he said with a smirk. "Was Annabeth Chase. She's pretty fucking hot, isn't she?"

Percy tried to calm his beating heart. "How do you guys know her?"

"Ah, shit," Jason said, taking a drink of his water. "I forgot to tell you. While you were at Montauk, Dakota threw a party at his house, and Annabeth went. She moved here towards the end of our junior year."

"Everyone loves her, dude," Grover said, shaking his head slightly. "It's crazy."

"I know," Travis agreed, blue eyes bright. "She walked into that party and it's like- _everyone_ wanted to be her friend. The chick's got some tricks up her sleeve, that's for sure."

 _Annabeth Chase._

 _Even her fucking name is beautiful,_ Percy thought, almost miserably.

"Oh _shit!"_ Leo cried out, laughing. "I know that look, Perce- you're _so_ hard for her."

"Can you blame him?" Connor said, munching on a bag of Doritos. "Dude- have you _seen_ her?"

"You should've seen the way she was dancing at our party the other day," Travis said, grinning ruefully. "Holy-"

"Guys," Frank interrupted, frowning disapprovingly at them. "Let's refrain from objectifying Annabeth in that way. She's really nice."

" _Nice?"_ Nico squawked, looking appalled. "She took one of my _french fries-"_

"Besides," Percy said, desperate to change the subject. He shot a look at the Stoll brothers. "Your girlfriends will have your dicks if they find out the way you're talking about Annabeth."

Both boys instantly blanched.

Jason smirked. "Got their asses."

"But now that you guys so graciously brought it up," Grover said, leaning forward towards Percy, warm brown eyes inquisitive, his voice suddenly conspiratorial. " _Are_ you actually hard for her?"

"Goddammit- no!" Percy said, throwing his hands up in frustration. "I ask one stupid question about who the fuck that girl was, and you all start acting like I wanna fuck her already."

"Jeez, Perce," Nico mocked. "No need to get your panties in a twist."

"Yeah, come on, Percy," Jason said, grinning in a way that Percy didn't like. "You know we're just playing."

Percy knew goddamn well they were not.

"All of you can go eat shit and die," Percy snapped, and the boys giggled mockingly, blowing kisses at him cooing sweet words at him.

Percy pretended he hadn't seen Jason's knowing wink.

* * *

Percy sat down wearily at his last class of the day, and Jason plopped down in the seat beside him, clapping his shoulder and leaning back.

"Anyone else in this class?" Percy asked, and Jason rubbed a hand through his cropped blonde hair.

"I'm pretty sure, Silena, Thalia, Nico, Reyna, Grover and Leo are," he replied, a weary smirk on his lips.

"I'm so fucking tired already," Percy said, watching as the students filed into the classroom, all with equal expressions of exhaustion and jaded eyes.

"When do swim meets start up again?" Jason asked, tapping his pencil against the desk in a continuous rhythm.

Percy ran a hand through his hair, sighing. "September. Running all the way to March this time."

"Shit, dude," Jason said, a half-smile on his face. He leaned over and ruffled Percy's hair in the annoying way he always had. "You'll get through it."

Percy snorted. "If I manage to keep my shit together, yeah. I barely made it with my grades last year."

"Lucky for you," Jason said with a cheeky grin. "You've got your favorite cousin to tutor you."

Percy frowned. "Who- Thalia? You know she's not that smart, Jase-"

Jason punched his arm. "Asshat."

Percy grinned and opened his mouth to say something, but he made the mistake of looking in the direction of the doorway, because right then, _she_ walked in.

Percy's mouth went dry.

Her face was glowing with a smile and her cheeks were flushed and tendrils of her curls were falling into her face, and she walked so confidently and she radiated happiness and a carefree joy and she was so beautiful and-

"What the _fuck,"_ he choked out, his insides flushing with a warmth that made his jaw tighten and hands curl into fists.

Jason looked towards the entrance, and a wild grin spread on his face when he spotted Annabeth Chase walking in with Silena Beaureguard, Thalia Grace and Reyna Ramirez, the girls bumping into one another and laughing wildly, and Annabeth was the center of it all.

Jason threw his head back and laughed. "Dude, you're fucked."

"Piss off, Superman," Percy snapped, scowling. "I just didn't think she'd be in our history class- of all fucking classes."

Jason grinned and winked. "Whatever you say, Fish Breath."

"Seriously, fuck you."

"Hey y'all!" Leo greeted, bouncing into the seat behind Jason, along with Grover, who sat down in front of Percy. Nico followed after them with an expression that looked like he was ready to snap at any moment.

"Shut the fuck up, Leo," Nico growled, sitting behind Percy with a loud bang of his binder. "I'm tired of your shit."

Percy raised an eyebrow. "Nico- who shoved a stick up your ass?"

Nico buried his fingers in his hair, his eyes twitching. "I'm stuck with that fuck nut in four of my classes."

"Ah," Jason said in mocking understanding. "I see."

Leo gasped, placing a hand over his chest. "Nico!" He exclaimed, eyes wide. "I thought you loved me! I was planning on maybe even giving you a blowjob later to express my love and affection for you-"

Nico gagged loudly, attracting some looks from the other students. "Go suck your own dick, Valdez. Mine's off the market."

"Yeah," Percy agreed, forcing down a grin. "Don't you know that Will's already made Nico get a tattoo on his dick that says: Property of Will Solace?"

The boys howled with laughter, and Nico's cheeks went ablaze, and he sunk his face down on the desk. "Fuck you," he muttered miserably. "Fuck all of you."

"All right, students," said a warm, homely voice at the front of the room. "Settle down, please."

Percy looked to the front of the room to see a man in his late forties stroll into the room in a wheelchair, looking put-together and fresh in his white and blue plaid long-sleeve, button-up shirt. Gray streaked his combed brown hair, and when he turned to face the room, calm and tender brown eyes greeted them.

"I am Mr. Brunner," he announced in that patient voice of his, nodding his head in greeting. "But you can all feel free to call me Chiron. I will be your history teacher this year."

"Hello, Chiron," Annabeth chirped from where she sat between Thalia and Reyna, and she beamed at him. "It is so very nice to meet you."

Her voice was like honey, sweet and thick and gripping Percy's heart in a tight hold that he found hard to get away from. And when she spoke, everyone seemed to stop what they were doing and stare at her, focused and hanging on to her every word. She was a magnet- a star. She was so _beautiful._

Chiron regarded her with a look of mild amusement and kindness. "Hello, dear," he said, nodding. "You must be our new student."

"Annabeth Chase," she said, grinning kindly.

"Well, Annabeth," Chiron said, "Welcome to Goode."

Annabeth's gaze swept across the room, regarding everyone with a glint in her eyes, and when her eyes crossed over Percy, a slow grin spread across her lips, and a fire burst inside Percy's stomach at the sultry gesture.

Annabeth turned back to Chiron, an innocent smile on her glossy lips. "I think I'm going to like it here."

* * *

 **Hi guys! So- yes! This is going to be a short story- I still don't know how long it'll be, but definitely under five chapters. Maybe three?**

 **So, I've based this story off Lana del Rey's song "Carmen" (see above). I've recently had a full on, unhealthy obsession with her music (she's fucking amazing) and that song hit me hard and inspired me so much, and then- BAM! I've got this first chapter written!**

 **Just a lil, innocent warning- this story will be a little dark, as you can see from the lyrics of the song. But its gonna be good (I hope) and I am super excited to share it with you guys :D**

 **I hope you guys liked this first chapter- I know it's short, but that's normally how I start off my stories, so yeah. The chapters will be up to at least 5,000 words, I hope.**

 **See you guys soon!**

 **~Kat xxx**


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